I’m like that, too. But in my opinion when we don’t go back to get ‘‘closure’’ or if we don’t remember the story at all is simply because we never liked the story in the first place.
[Vincenzo] I practically had to forced myself to watch the ending, and while some ppl. found it so romantic, I personally found it so ‘‘unromantic’’ and with no chemistry between ML and FL.
Once I decide I won’t finish a drama, I know is because I will hate the ending as much as I hated the story from the beginning, but was ‘‘forcing’’ myself to watch.
I disliked [HAPPINESS] and I stopped watching, and have not bothered going back to watch the ending.
I have this method of watching dramas/movies/shows. Is as follow; if I don’t like it by the second episode, I know I won’t waste my time ‘‘trying’’ to like it just bc others rave about how much they love it, and are encouraging others to watch so ‘‘fervently.’’
I think that what’s mainly killing the dramas lately is that the stories are so similar that you don’t want to watch the same thing over and over again.
I remember stopping The Player at episode 4 and waiting a month just to come to terms with the fact that there would be no romance and she was just like their sister Once I got over the initial disappointment, I had a blast. Its still one of my favorite dramas, and I loved the hilarious sibling energy in the main team
LOL I couldn’t have stopped myself even if I had a heart attack from all the thrills… Literally finished it overnight because I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the screen
I skip or fast forward scenes and sometimes, if the show becomes boring in the middle, I skip to the last episode or I watch 3-4 minutes from the rest of the episodes. I don’t force myself to watch if the dialogues are kindergarten-level or if they have dragging scenes, especially crying scenes.
Maybe it’s just me but I do find myself making ample use of the fast forward button on more C-dramas than dramas from other countries. I’ve noticed that there are a lot of C-dramas out there that are poorly subbed (none from Viki, I might add) and contain incredibly weak/stupid/idiotic plots with very poor acting. I know this is kind of a blanket statement, but I have found that I abandon more C-dramas than any other. It’s almost like someone (government, etc.) has excess funding that needs to be spent. Conversely, I have run onto a few C-dramas that were incredibly well-acted, well-directed, and well-written.
Cdramas are always hit or miss. There is a whole range of budgets for these dramas, probably because there are so many studios. I always get much more disappointed with kdramas than cdramas, if I’m forced to drop. I just don’t expect as much from cdramas. Of course, there are lots and lots of good ones - but there are an equal, if not larger, number of terrible ones. Not like that’s a bad thing.
Sometimes, when I just want to watch something brainless and stupid, I pick from my cdrama watchlist. I also think that, on an average, I find historical cdramas way more entertaining than other countries, because there are so many genres to choose from. Half them are fantasy, high fantasy or just plain fiction. They hardly ever worry about historical accuracy, so literally anythig can happen in any time period. The historical aspect is just so they don’t have modern communication/travel/resources and can wear the pretty swooshy clothes I love seeing. I’m the type who doesn’t care about history or logic as long as it doesn’t spoil a good story, so cdramas give me all I need. If I want to watch some fantasy and magic - it’s a whole genre. Sometimes i like watching absolutely outrageous trash(as long as it’s funny and romantic). Cdramas are amazing at providing that. Sometimes I want to watch something light with no substance and just fluff, no angst. When I get tired, I can drop it whenever, because there’s absolutely no hook to the plot.
Kdramas don’t cater to my moods like that. I usually expect kdramas to be of good quality, so there’s hardly any brainless stuff to watch. I’m probably more lenient with my ratings when it comes to cdramas.
I get that. You are right about the hit or miss.
What I like about c-dramas in comparison to k-dramas is, that they usually give the relationships more space to develop than k-dramas do. At the end of a romantic c-drama the couple will most likely have had a lot of cute couple moments and my even have had an actual relationship. While in most k-dramas there is so much plotting/scheming and so on, that at the end of a k-drama the relationship of the main leads is just at the starting line after nothing more than one or two sweet kisses and a lot misunderstandings. So why should a relationship, that went through so many misunderstandings that it took the couple 16 episodes to get together work out in the future? Should we really believe, that a couple, that separated just two episodes before the ending won’t have any problems in the future?
This aspect of the story is actually usually more credible in c-dramas, as the couples actually had a relationship within the drama. But on the other hand a lot of c-dramas have incredibly weak endings. Maybe it’s just me but I may name a bunch of c-dramas that were sometimes really nice to watch but had an incredibly weak ending.
I will have to disagree with you here. I think kdrama interpersonal relationships are on an average much, much better developed than cdramas. There is realistic character development, slow burn, and the relationship progression goes at a good pace.
With cdramas… most of them don’t have very deep character growth, a lot have cardboard tropey characters(I say carboard because there is no growth, I have no probem with tropey characters). The kisses may be sweet with lots of skinship scenes but many times it just feels shallow or just to fill the screen time quota. As I said before, it’s perfect when I just want some brainless fluff and romance, because I don’t have to wait for the relationship to grow properly. However, even if there’s only one kiss in certain kdramas, it still feels more real, rewarding and satisfying. You feel the growing love between the characters before you see it. The writers make you fall in love with leads individually, and THEN start developing the romance so you are totally shipping them before they get together. Sometimes, the whole thing feels romantic even though the characters aren’t together.
Case in point: Someone recently asked me when the leads in I’m Not a Robot get together. When I actually thought about it, I realized it was very late in the show… probably ep 13-14 out of 16. But the whole thing was so well done and incredibly romantic that it felt like they were dating the whole time. I’ve found most romcom kdramas to be very heartwarming, with fleshed-out relationships. They put the relationships to test in fire, so you can believe that the couple stays together with a HEA. The romance remains in my heart for longer. With cdramas, it’s usually smooth sailing throughout. Even the angst isn’t very heavy. There’s usually one tsundere ML with bubbly FL, and one stalker SFL who hounds the SML until he magically starts liking her back. There’s no real hook to the plot, so I just forget about continuing to watch some dramas. Lots of fluff and no substance.
Again, this doesn’t go for ALL cdramas. There are quite a few cdramas with good, strong storylines. I guess it’s better because they have so much more time than the average kdrama.
I see what you mean and I even though it sounds weird I agree.
Partly at least. Maybe I just haven’t seen enough k- and c-dramas yet, to get the same impression as you already have.
But you are right the characters in k-dramas are individually more developed as their c-drama counterparts and they really undergo some character changes during the show for better or worse.
The feelings are also stronger and seem more developed, when I think about it. But that doesn’t change that there are many obstacles to overcome for a k-drama couple until they can be together. And sometimes they stay apart for so many stupid reasons that I just find it hard to believe that they would not make the same mistakes in the future again. For example the typical plot device to separate a couple a little longer: no communication and false assumptions. When the second leads make one party of the main couple believe, that he or she has no chance to receive the other main leads love or the main leads thinks it would be better to stay away from his or her loved one because she feels responsible for whatever tragedy his or her loved one is in right now.
If you have the tendency to run away from your loved once and leave them alone, when you feel responsible for their pain, why should you change that behaviour after the great misunderstandings have been cleared and nothing seems to be in your way anymore?
Isn’t it a pattern you are always in danger to fall back in to?
Following the dramaturgy of the (a lot of) dramas we were already hoping for the best in episode 10, when the couple finally kissed (romance drama) but that was before the great plot device called misunderstanding.
But you are right the feels for the main couple are much stronger. That might be the reason, that k-drama endings very often feel just right and are usually good in the way that they make sense and let you feel your emotions.
You are right here as well. Actually the fact, that c-dramas do not have a much less developed plot is the reason why I like watching them.
K-dramas usually have a wast developed plot with lot’s of plot devices like the major goals of the main leads and side characters, the journey they take on together but also intrigues, misunderstandings, the concerned parents. In short: There is a lot going on in k-dramas and you will feel happy, sad, angry and so on while watching it.
So if you are in the mood for a more complex story a k-drama should be the right choice.
But sometimes I am just not in the mood for a complex story, and that is were the c-drama is my rescue.
As most of them are a fluff story like you said. Slice of life, less schemes compared to k-dramas and less love triangles (a trope I absolutely can’t stand).
And I am under the impression, that if the couple communicates in a c-drama then they do it in a good way. The couples normally get together in the middle of the show and stay together for some episodes before separating and then the end is a gamble. I feel you, when you say you forget about continuing to watch some c-dramas. I feel that, too.
C-dramas tend to have their climax far before the end and the last episodes are more often then not not as interesting to watch. Hoping for a nice ending I tend to watch them but are more often then not disappointed with the ending of Chinese shows. The story just Fades in the end without proper closure.
When I have this happen with a drama, I’ll go find an episode recap and read it before I watch the next episode. It’s sort of like it’s sensory overload and reading what’s going to happen, before I watch it, reduces the sensory input.
@manuela_183 and @vivi_1485, your conversation got me really interested, so I did a little analysis of Kdramas vs. Cdramas that I have watched. Obviously it comes down to which dramas we choose to watch and the types of stories we are personally drawn to, but I think I find that Cdramas actually do slow burn REALLY well, partially because their dramas are longer and therefore have more time to drag out the relationship even further. It’s interesting to me that Vivi suggests that Cdramas are more likely to get a couple together too soon so that it feels unjustified, but I do not have that same impression based on what I have watched. In fact, I have several favorite couples from Cdramas that give off lots of lovey feels with hardly any actual romantic skinship. For example, the OTP from ‘Under the Power’. Give me couples like that any day, and I have several like that from Cdramas. Not that these don’t also exist in Kdramas. They definitely do, and I have several of the same. If I’m being honest, it is Jdramas that are the most guilty of giving too much skinship, too fast, that feels incredibly unjustified by the story arc. And I’ve said it before, the faster a couple gets together, the more crap they are probably going to have to deal with throughout the course of the drama, and that’s not how I prefer my OTPs.
I agree with you on J-dramas. They just move way too fast for me.
When I talked about slow-burn, I don’t mean ALL cdramas, but at the same time, there are slow burn dramas that I don’t like because there isn’t enough chracter growth. “Under the Power” was really good. So are quite a few other meaningful dramas, like Go Ahead and You are My Hero(basically Sandra Ma and Seven Tan ON TOP XD). They make adequate use of the time by developing the character and relationship well. Xianxias are also really great.
However, I still think the majority are just too shallow. Instead of Tipsy Why Not Get Drunk, The World Owes Me My First Love, Love O2O, My Love Enlighten Me, My Little Happiness, The Killer is Also Romantic, My Girlfriend is an Alien… these are all adorably cute, popular dramas, but I always felt the relationship wasn’t properly fleshed out, and there was not much space for character development. I gave quite a few of them very high ratings because I love them when I’m in a mood for fluff.
I can get on board with some of those examples. In fact, some of them I didn’t even like, really. Some of them I haven’t seen. Honestly, it seems like most of the ‘free’ options at one of the other sites I won’t name fall into the category of light and cute but probably shallow. I have enjoyed some and rolled my eyes at others. But, frankly, Kdramas also have their fair share of these types. They are out there if you go looking for them, and like you said, they can have a place in my repertoire depending on my mood.
I probably disagree with all of you!
Most times, the people are totally incompatible and the possibility to fall in love would be totally unrealistic in real life and the writers write whatever plotholes it takes to make the couple fall in love.
I tend to avoid romances, I watch action/suspense/mystery and, in my case, the romances are an obstacle to the main story, both c-dramas and k-dramas tend to set the story aside to showcase the romance and the actual plotline remains ananswered while we watch the pretty leads holding hands and daydreaming.
True, but there are some things that can break a marriage, e.g. one wants kids the other doesn’t, one is against girls going to school the other wants girls to study etc. Either one of them must change personality (while they could find a compatible character) or they will be oppressed and unhappy.
I agree with your examples, but is that common in dramas? The biggest differences are usually just personality or status differences. Lots of good dramas wrestle with such topics and what happens after the happily ever after.
Once I got over the initial disappointment, I had a blast. Its still one of my favorite dramas, and I loved the hilarious sibling energy in the main team
